Clinical Chloe was rewarded for her emphatic finishing with a first call-up to Alfie Wylie’s senior Northern Ireland squad for back-to-back friendlies against Portugal as reward for her prolific performances in front of goal. The then 19-year-old UUJ student regularly heads the top scoring charts for her clubs, from her formative years with Omagh’s Cappagh Spurs to last year when she rattled in many important goals for Sion Swifts Ladies, who finished second in the NI Women’s Premiership and won a historic first ever Women’s Challenge Cup with a 2-0 final win against Newry City Ladies at the National Stadium. Chloe finished the season with 12 goals to her credit and one full international cap, earned against Taiwan.

Ryan McNelis, Golf

Ryan’s name is rarely off the leaderboard at his home course, but he has also made a name for himself away from Fintona Golf Club. The talented teenager confirmed his reputation as one of the top young golfers in both Ulster and Ireland by winning the Irish Junior Open U15 Championship at Killymoon Golf Club, while he was also runner-up at the Junior European Open U18 Final in Spain. In addition he was also the youngest player to make the cut which fell after 36 holes in the Ulster Youth Under-21 Championships at Royal Belfast Golf Club, emerged in first place from a top quality field in the under-16 category at the Faldo Series Ireland Championship and concluded 2017 by being named golfer of the year at Fintona, while reducing his handicap to just 1.

Jude Gallagher, Boxing

Jude cemented his position a rising star in Irish boxing circles after winning his sixth Irish title in July when defeating Patrick Connors in the National Senior Cadet Championship 46kg final. That win saw the 15-year-old Newtownstewart lad earn a place in the Irish squad for the 21st edition of the EUBC European Confederation Junior Boxing Championships in Bulgaria, where he caught the eye, by beating one of the event favourites, England’s Cameron Paul by a unanimous decision (5-0). He has also won a plethora of Mid Ulster, Nine Counties, Ulster, and Monkstown International titles, earned a gold medal at the Black Forest Cup, a multi-nations event in Germany, and in late January claimed the Irish under-18 title.

Cormac Munroe, Gaelic Football

Cormac played a captain’s role as Tyrone sealed their place in history when winning the first ever All-Ireland Under-17 Championship, courtesy of a resounding 2-18 to 0-15 victory over Roscommon at Croke Park on a day to remember for the young Red Hands. It was a performance befitting of the famous surrounds and put the cap on a superb season for the side, managed by Collie Holmes, which also annexed the Ulster League and Ulster Championship earlier in the campaign. Carrickmore teenager Cormac, who led by example throughout, with a string of dominant and determined showings in the pivotal centre-half back berth, produced excellent levels of consistency across the season.

Lewis Spratt, Motocross

Nine year-old Omagh lad Lewis enjoyed a season to remember on his 65cc motorcycle, sweeping all before him on the way to six championship titles. The year five Omagh County PS pupil was crowned Ulster, Irish, Errigal\Donegal, Ulster Barley Stubble and Cork Winter Series champion, he was part of the 65cc team, which won the Off Road Motorsport UK Championships and he helped Northern Ireland to third place at the Home Internationals – winning 66 of the 124 races he started during 2017. After starting out on a little 50cc automatic bike, Lewis soon graduated to an improved machine, on which he won an Irish title and narrowly missed out on an Ulster crown, having to settle for second overall.

Maria Canavan, GAA

As a member of the Canavan dynasty, success is no stranger to Maria and certainly not in 2017 when she capped a ‘four’-midable year by amassing a personal scoring tally of 2-9 in the Ladies Ulster Minor Club Championship Final before Christmas, as the jubilant Errigal Ciaran girls accounted for Armagh’s Clann Eireann in the decider. The success ensured that the 18 year old wrapped up her own brilliant Ulster ‘quadruple’ having also lifted provincial football titles with St Ciaran’s College, Ballygawley, and Tyrone Seniors and Minors in the calendar year. Errigal’s maiden triumph in the Ulster Club provided the perfect ending to what has been an exhausting but hugely satisfying season for Maria.